Method and device for selecting camping cell

ABSTRACT

A method and device for selecting a camping cell are provided. The method includes that: terminal equipment measures licensed frequency bands and unlicensed frequency bands according to configuration information, the configuration information including channel signal quality measurement information and/or channel interference level measurement information, wherein the channel quality measurement information may include a Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) parameter and/or a Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) parameter, and the channel interference level measurement information may include a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) parameter; and the terminal equipment determines a camping cell according to a result of measurement over the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands. Therefore, the terminal equipment may camp in a licensed frequency band cell or an unlicensed frequency band cell, and may also achieve optimal access performance between the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/741,706, filed on Jan. 3, 2018, which is the national phase under 35U.S.C. § 371 of PCT International Application No. PCT/CN2015/092738,filed on Oct. 23, 2015, the entire contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

At present, using an unlicensed frequency band (for example, 2.4 GHz and5.8 GHz) to extend a using frequency of a wireless cellular system isstarted to be considered for the wireless cellular system. Two methodsare mainly adopted, i.e. License Assisted Access (LAA) and Long TermEvolution (LTE)/Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) aggregations. The twoaggregation methods mainly have the following characteristics: (1) anaggregation resource belongs to an unlicensed frequency band, and isonly used as an auxiliary frequency band for an ordinary licensedfrequency band; and (2) use of the unlicensed frequency band is not onlylimited by scheduling of a base station, but also limited by a load ofthe frequency band, and namely, the unlicensed frequency band may beused through a competition mechanism. Therefore, compared with thelicensed frequency band, an access time of a terminal is required to beas short as possible such that the resource of the unlicensed frequencyband may be fully utilized within a limited time and a utilization rateof the resource may be increased.

At the present stage, an unlicensed frequency band still exists only asa supplement for a licensed frequency band. For example, in an LAAtechnology, the unlicensed frequency band may adopt an LTE working mode,but may exist only as a secondary carrier for the licensed frequencyband. In the future, LAA may adopt an independent working mode like aWireless Local Area Network (WLAN). In such case, when a terminal has nodata connection and thus is in an idle state, the terminal may camp in acell using the licensed frequency band or the terminal may camp in acell using the unlicensed frequency band. However, for accessing to theunlicensed frequency band cell, it is necessary to use a Listen BeforeTalk (LBT) mechanism for monitoring and detecting a wireless channel andafter transmission for a certain period of time in case of successfulcompetition, return to a monitoring state to continue monitoring andcompleting for the channel like the WLAN. Therefore, performance, suchas time delay, packet loss rate and the like of access of the terminalcannot be ensured like the licensed frequency band cell. In spite ofthis, the unlicensed frequency band also has the advantages of richfrequency band resources, larger bandwidth and the like, and theterminal may flexibly select to access an unlicensed frequency bandchannel having a better channel condition. Therefore, how to enable aterminal equipment to flexibly camp in a licensed frequency band celland an unlicensed frequency band cell is a problem to be solved atpresent.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to the field of communications, andmore particularly, to a method and device for selecting a camping cell.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a method and device forselecting a camping cell, which enable a terminal equipment to camp in alicensed frequency band cell or an unlicensed frequency band cell andachieve optimal access performance between licensed frequency bands andunlicensed frequency bands.

In a first aspect, there is provided a method for selecting a campingcell, which may include that: a terminal equipment measures licensedfrequency bands and unlicensed frequency bands according toconfiguration information, the configuration information includingchannel signal quality measurement information and/or channelinterference level measurement information, wherein the channel qualitymeasurement information may include a Reference Signal Receiving Power(RSRP) parameter and/or a Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ)parameter, and the channel interference level measurement informationmay include a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) parameter; andthe terminal equipment determines a camping cell according to a resultof measurement over the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands.

In a second aspect, there is provided a method for selecting a campingcell, which may include that: a network equipment sends configurationinformation to a terminal equipment, to enable the terminal equipment tomeasure licensed frequency bands and unlicensed frequency bandsaccording to the configuration information and determine a camping cellaccording to a result of measurement over the licensed frequency bandsand the unlicensed frequency bands, wherein the configurationinformation may include channel signal quality measurement informationand/or channel interference level measurement information, wherein thechannel quality measurement information may include an RSRP parameterand/or an RSRQ parameter, and the channel interference level measurementinformation may include an RSSI parameter.

In a third aspect, there is provided a terminal equipment, which mayinclude: a measurement module, configured to measure licensed frequencybands and unlicensed frequency bands according to configurationinformation, the configuration information including channel signalquality measurement information and/or channel interference levelmeasurement information, wherein the channel quality measurementinformation may include an RSRP parameter and/or an RSRQ parameter, andthe channel interference level measurement information may include anRSSI parameter; and a determination module, configured to determine acamping cell according to a result of measurement performed by themeasurement module on the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a network equipment, which mayinclude: a sending module, configured to send configuration informationto a terminal equipment to enable the terminal equipment to measurelicensed frequency bands and unlicensed frequency bands according to theconfiguration information and determine a camping cell according to aresult of measurement over the licensed frequency bands and theunlicensed frequency bands, wherein the configuration information mayinclude channel signal quality measurement information and/or channelinterference level measurement information, wherein the channel qualitymeasurement information may include an RSRP parameter and/or an RSRQparameter, and the channel interference level measurement informationmay include an RSSI parameter.

According to the method and device provided by the embodiments of thedisclosure for selecting the camping cell, based on the abovementionedtechnical characteristics, the terminal equipment measures the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands according to theconfiguration information, and determines the camping cell according tothe measurement result, so that the terminal equipment may camp in alicensed frequency band cell or an unlicensed frequency band cell, andmay also achieve optimal access performance between the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order to describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of thedisclosure more clearly, the drawings referred to in the embodiments ofthe disclosure will be briefly described below. It is apparent that thedrawings described below are only some embodiments of the disclosure.For those skilled in the art, other drawings may further be obtainedaccording to these drawings without creative work.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for selecting acamping cell according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is another schematic flowchart of a method for selecting acamping cell according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for selecting acamping cell according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for selecting acamping cell according to yet another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a terminal equipmentaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is another schematic block diagram illustrating a terminalequipment according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is another schematic block diagram illustrating a terminalequipment according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a terminal equipmentaccording to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a network equipmentaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a network equipmentaccording to another embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the disclosure will beclearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawingsin the embodiments of the disclosure. It is apparent that the describedembodiments are not all embodiments but part of embodiments of thedisclosure. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the arton the basis of the embodiments in the disclosure without creative workshall fall within the scope of protection of the disclosure.

It is to be understood that the technical solutions of the embodimentsof the disclosure may be applied to various communication systems, forexample, a Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM), a Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access(WCDMA) system, an LTE system, an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD)system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), a Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS), and a future 5th-Generation (5G)communication system.

It is to be understood that, in the embodiments of the disclosure, aterminal equipment may also be called as User Equipment (UE), a MobileStation (MS), a mobile terminal or the like. The UE may communicate withone or more core networks through a Radio Access Network (RAN). The UEmay be a mobile phone (or called as a cell phone), a computer with amobile terminal or the like. For example, the UE may be a portable,pocket, handheld, in-computer or vehicle-mounted mobile device, andterminal equipment in a future 5G network or terminal equipment in afuture evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN).

It is also be understood that, in the embodiments of the disclosure, anetwork equipment may be an equipment configured to communicate with theUE. The network equipment may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in aGSM or CDMA, or a NodeB (NB) in a WCDMA system, or an Evolutional Node B(eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, or the network equipment may be arelay station, an access point, vehicle-mounted equipment, wearableequipment, network-side equipment in the future 5G network or networkequipment in the future evolved PLMN and the like.

It is to be noted that, in the embodiments of the disclosure, a licensedfrequency band refers to a frequency band which is exclusively used by aspecific system or a specific operating company. The licensed frequencyband may also be called as an “ordinary licensed frequency band” or an“authorized frequency band”. An unlicensed frequency band refers to afrequency band free and open to the public and shared by differentsystems. The unlicensed frequency band may also be called as an“unauthorized frequency band” (for example, a 2.4 GHz frequency band anda 5.8 GHz frequency band). However, the scope of protection of theembodiments of the disclosure is not limited to these names.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for selecting acamping cell according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the method 100 includes the following operations.

In S110, a terminal equipment measures licensed frequency bands andunlicensed frequency bands according to configuration information. Theconfiguration information include channel signal quality measurementinformation and/or channel interference level measurement information.Here, the channel quality measurement information includes an RSRPparameter and/or an RSRQ parameter. The channel interference levelmeasurement information includes an RSSI parameter.

In S120, the terminal equipment determines a camping cell according to aresult of measurement over the licensed frequency bands and theunlicensed frequency bands.

In such a manner, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the terminalequipment may measure the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands according to the configuration information, anddetermine the camping cell according to the measurement result. As such,the terminal equipment may camp in a licensed frequency band cell or anunlicensed frequency band cell, and may also achieve optimal accessperformance between the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands.

It is to be noted that, in the embodiment of the disclosure, licensedfrequency band cells refer to cells corresponding to the licensedfrequency bands, unlicensed frequency band cells refer to cellscorresponding to the unlicensed frequency bands, and measurement overthe licensed frequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands includesmeasurement over channels of the licensed frequency bands and theunlicensed frequency bands and measurement over the licensed frequencyband cells and the unlicensed frequency band cells.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the configurationinformation may be sent to the terminal equipment by network equipment,or the configuration information may be default configurationinformation which is own by the terminal equipment. The disclosure isnot limited thereto.

Optionally, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the method 100 further includesthe following operation.

In S130, the terminal equipment receives the configuration informationsent by a network equipment.

Optionally, the terminal equipment may receive a broadcast message sentby the network equipment. The broadcast message include theconfiguration information. Here, the broadcast message may be abroadcast message contained in a Master Information Block (MIB), or iscalled as an MIB message. Alternatively, the broadcast message may be abroadcast message contained in a System Information Block (SIB), or iscalled as a SIB message. The broadcast message may be another broadcastmessage. The disclosure is not limited thereto.

Preferably, the broadcast message is a SIB message. For example, thebroadcast message may be a SIB4 message or SIB5 message in an existingcommunication standard, or may be a newly introduced SIB message, whichmay be named after for example a SIBX message and different from SIBmessages in a conventional art. Specifically, the network equipment mayimplement inclusion of the configuration information in the SIB4 messageor SIB5 message by adding an Information Element (IE) into the SIB4message or SIB5 message in the conventional art, or may include the IE,which is corresponding to the configuration information, in the new SIBmessage.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the configurationinformation further includes measurement triggering conditioninformation and/or measurement window information.

Specifically, the measurement triggering condition information may be ameasurement period. In such a case, the terminal equipment may measurethe licensed frequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bandsaccording to the measurement period. Alternatively, the triggeringcondition information may also be an event triggering event. Forexample, the event, which can trigger the measurement, may be that ameasured value of a licensed frequency band serving cell is lower than athreshold value, or a measured value of an unlicensed frequency bandserving cell is lower than the threshold value.

The measurement window information indicates a time length of eachmeasurement, and a measurement window may be a constant time length, ora variable time length. For example, when a previous measurement resultcondition is definite, for example, when an RSSI is far higher than orlower than a threshold value, the terminal equipment may use a shortermeasurement window. When the previous measurement result condition ispoor, that is, when a channel is more complicated (for example, the RSSIis approximate to the threshold value), the measurement window may becorrespondingly extended.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the configurationinformation may be configured by a core network and issued to theterminal equipment through Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling. In otherwords, the terminal equipment receives the NAS signaling sent by corenetwork equipment. The NAS signaling include the configurationinformation.

Preferably, in S110, the configuration information further includesfrequency band priority information. The frequency band priorityinformation is configured to indicate ranking of different frequencybands in terms of capability in serving as camping frequency bands forthe terminal equipment.

Specifically, the frequency band priority information specificallyindicates priorities of the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands and a priority of each unlicensed frequency band in theunlicensed frequency bands.

Correspondingly, when the frequency band priority information indicatesthat the priority of the unlicensed frequency bands is higher than thepriority of the licensed frequency bands, S120 may be specificallyimplemented as follows: when it is determined that an RSSI value of afirst unlicensed frequency band of the unlicensed frequency bands islower than a first configured threshold value and an RSRP value and/orRSRQ value of at least one unlicensed frequency band cell of unlicensedfrequency band cells corresponding to the first unlicensed frequencyband are/is higher than a second configured threshold value, theunlicensed frequency band cell with highest quality of the at least oneunlicensed frequency band cell is determined as the camping cell.

That is, when the frequency band priorities are configured and thepriority of the unlicensed frequency bands is higher than the priorityof the licensed frequency bands, frequency band channel selection andcell reselection are performed according to the following flow andcorresponding parameters: when RSSI quality, including information of anRSSI mean value, an RSSI occurrence probability and the like, of acertain unlicensed frequency band measured by a terminal is lower than athreshold value A1 and an RSRP/RSRQ value of at least one cell in thefrequency band is higher than a threshold value B1, it is judged thatthe terminal equipment may select to camp in the cell of the frequencyband, and otherwise, the terminal equipment may not select to camp inthe frequency band. If an RSRP/RSRQ value of only one cell of the cellscorresponding to the unlicensed frequency band is higher than thethreshold value B1, the cell is determined as a camping cell. IfRSRP/RSRQ values of multiple cells of the cells corresponding to theunlicensed frequency band are higher than the threshold value B1, anycell of the multiple cells may be determined as the camping cell.Preferably, the cell with highest quality in the multiple cells isdetermined as the camping cell.

Optionally, when the frequency band priority information indicates thatthe priority of each unlicensed frequency band is lower than thepriority of each licensed frequency band, S120 may be specificallyimplemented as follows: when it is determined that RSRP values and/orRSRQ values of licensed frequency band cells corresponding to thelicensed frequency bands are lower than a third configured thresholdvalue, an RSSI value of a second unlicensed frequency band of theunlicensed frequency bands is lower than a fourth configured thresholdvalue and an RSRP value and/or RSRQ value of at least one unlicensedfrequency band cell of unlicensed frequency band cells corresponding tothe second unlicensed frequency band are/is higher than a fifthconfigured threshold value, the unlicensed frequency band cell withhighest quality of the at least one unlicensed frequency band cell isdetermined as the camping cell.

That is, when the frequency band priorities are configured and thepriority of each unlicensed frequency band is lower than the priority ofeach licensed frequency band, frequency band channel selection and cellreselection are performed according to the following flow andcorresponding parameters. When RSRP/RSRQ values of all cells in alicensed frequency band of the terminal equipment are lower than athreshold value C2, RSSI quality, including information of an RSSI meanvalue, an RSSI occurrence probability and the like, of a certainunlicensed frequency band measured by the terminal is lower than athreshold value A2, and an RSRP/RSRQ value of at least one cell of cellscorresponding to the unlicensed frequency band is higher than athreshold value B2, the terminal equipment may select to camp in thecell of the frequency band, and otherwise, the terminal equipment cannotselect to camp in the frequency band. If an RSRP/RSRQ value of only onecell of the cells corresponding to the unlicensed frequency band ishigher than the threshold value B2, the cell is determined as thecamping cell. If RSRP/RSRQ values of multiple cells of the cellscorresponding to the unlicensed frequency band are higher than thethreshold value B2, any cell of the multiple cells may be determined asthe camping cell. Preferably, the cell with highest quality of themultiple cells is determined as the camping cell.

Optionally, when the frequency band priority information indicates thatthe priority of each unlicensed frequency band is equal to the priorityof each licensed frequency band, S120 may be specifically implemented asfollows: when it is determined that the RSRP values and/or RSRQ valuesof the licensed frequency band cells corresponding to the licensedfrequency bands are lower than a sixth configured threshold value, anRSSI value of a third unlicensed frequency band of the unlicensedfrequency bands is lower than a seventh configured threshold value andan RSRP value and/or RSRQ value of at least one unlicensed frequencyband cell of unlicensed frequency band cells corresponding to the thirdunlicensed frequency band are/is higher than an eighth configuredthreshold value, the unlicensed frequency band cell with highest qualityof the at least one unlicensed frequency band cell is determined as thecamping cell.

In other words, when the frequency band priorities are configured andthe priority of each unlicensed frequency band is equal to the priorityof each licensed frequency band, frequency band channel selection andcell reselection are performed according to the following flow andcorresponding parameters. When the RSRP/RSRQ values of all the cells inthe licensed frequency band of the terminal equipment are lower than athreshold value C3, RSSI quality, including information of an RSSI meanvalue, an RSSI occurrence probability and the like, of a certainunlicensed frequency band measured by the terminal is lower than athreshold value A3 and an RSRP/RSRQ value of at least one cell in thefrequency band is higher than a threshold value B3, the terminalequipment may select the cell of the frequency band to camp, andotherwise, the terminal equipment may not select the frequency band tocamp. If an RSRP/RSRQ value of only one cell of cells corresponding tothe unlicensed frequency band is higher than the threshold value B3, thecell is determined as the camping cell. If RSRP/RSRQ values of multiplecells of the cells corresponding to the unlicensed frequency band arehigher than the threshold value B3, any cell of the multiple cells maybe determined as the camping cell. Preferably, the cell with highestquality in the multiple cells is determined as the camping cell.

Optionally, when the frequency band priorities are not configured, S120may be specifically implemented as follows: when it is determined thatthe RSRP values and/or RSRQ values of the licensed frequency band cellscorresponding to the licensed frequency bands are lower than a ninthconfigured threshold value, an RSSI value of a fourth unlicensedfrequency band of the unlicensed frequency bands is lower than a tenthconfigured threshold value and an RSRP value and/or RSRQ value of atleast one unlicensed frequency band cell of unlicensed frequency bandcells corresponding to the fourth unlicensed frequency band are/ishigher than an eleventh configured threshold value, the unlicensedfrequency band cell with highest quality of the at least one unlicensedfrequency band cell is determined as the camping cell.

That is, when the frequency band priorities are not configured,frequency band channel selection and cell reselection may be performedaccording to the abovementioned flow and corresponding parameters whenthe frequency band priorities are configured and the priority of eachunlicensed frequency band is lower than the priority of each licensedfrequency band.

It is to be understood that the related threshold values mentioned abovemay be any reasonable numerical values which are set according topractical experiences. The present disclosure is not limited thereto.Moreover, “first”, “second” and the like mentioned above are adoptedonly for distinguishing and not intended to form limits to the describedparameters.

It is to be noted that, in the embodiment of the disclosure, quality ofthe cells may be judged according to RSRQ of the cells, or the qualityof the cells may be determined according to RSRP of the cells, or thequality of the cells may be judged according to magnitudes ofinterferences of the cells, or the quality of the cells may be judgedaccording to comprehensive results of the above parameters. Thedisclosure is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the terminal equipment in the embodiment of the disclosuremay select the camping cell according to a reselection rule thatresidence in the unlicensed frequency band cells is considered onlyunder the condition that it is impossible to camp in any of licensedfrequency band cells. In such a case, the threshold values may beregulated to regulate probabilities that the terminal equipment accessesto the unlicensed frequency band.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the terminal equipmentmay measure the licensed frequency bands or the unlicensed frequencybands by continuously measuring for a certain period of time orcontinuously measuring for a certain number of times. Correspondingly,when performing cell reselection according to the measurement results,the terminal equipment may make judgments in terms of time period forwhich the measurement results exceed the threshold value, or number oftimes for which the measurement results exceed the threshold value, orprobability that the measurement results exceed the threshold value. Thedisclosure is not limited thereto.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the configurationinformation further includes reselection rule information.

Correspondingly, S120 may be specifically implemented as follows: thecamping cell is determined according to the result of measurement overthe licensed frequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands and thereselection rule information.

Optionally, the reselection rule information includes an unlicensedfrequency band reselection offset and a reselection threshold value.Moreover, one or more unlicensed frequency band reselection offsets andone or more reselection threshold values may be set.

Specifically, the unlicensed frequency band reselection offset mayinclude an RSRQ/RSRP offset Qoffset and/or an RSSI offset Woffset. Insuch case, the terminal equipment may consider addition of the Qoffsetand/or the Woffset when determining the camping cell. A value of thereselection offset may selected to be −3 dB, −2 dB, −1 dB, 0 dB, 1 dB, 2dB, 3 dB or the like. For example, when the Woffset is considered, theterminal equipment may determine the camping cell according to thefollowing flow. In a certain timer or when a certain number (N) of timesis met, if signal quality of an unlicensed frequency band cell is higherthan a sum of a threshold value 1 and the Woffset, signal quality of alicensed frequency band cell is lower than a threshold value 2 and anRSSI of an unlicensed frequency band meets occupancy and signal strengthmean value requirements, the unlicensed frequency band cellcorresponding to the unlicensed frequency band may be selected as thecamping cell. Alternatively, under a certain timer condition and/or whenthe certain number (N) of the times is met, if the signal quality of theunlicensed frequency band cell is higher than a sum of the signalquality of the licensed frequency band and the Woffset, the signalquality of the licensed frequency band cell is lower than the thresholdvalue 2 and the RSSI of the unlicensed frequency band meets theoccupancy and signal strength mean value requirements, the unlicensedfrequency band cell corresponding to the unlicensed frequency band maybe selected as the camping cell.

The method for selecting the camping cell according to the embodimentsof the disclosure will be described below in detail with reference tospecific embodiments. It is to be noted that these examples are notintended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the disclosure butonly to help those skilled in the art to better understand theembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for selecting acamping cell according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Asillustrated in FIG. 3, the method 200 includes the following operations.

In S201, a base station (eNB) sends a broadcast message to terminalequipment (UE).

Specifically, the broadcast message sent by the base station may includeconfiguration information.

In S202, the terminal equipment measures licensed frequency bands andunlicensed frequency bands according to the broadcast message sent bythe base station.

In S203, the terminal equipment performs cell reselection to determine acamping cell according to a result of measurement over the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands.

In such a manner, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the terminalequipment may measure the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands according to the configuration information, anddetermine the camping cell according to the measurement result. As such,the terminal equipment may camp in a licensed frequency band cell or anunlicensed frequency band cell, and may also achieve optimal accessperformance between the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands.

The method for selecting the camping cell according to the embodiment ofthe disclosure has been described above in detail from a terminalequipment side with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3. The method forselecting the camping cell according to another embodiment of thedisclosure will be described below in detail from a network equipmentside with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. It is to be understood thatinteraction between the network equipment and the terminal equipment,related characteristics and functions and the like described on theterminal equipment side correspond to descriptions on the networkequipment side. For simplicity, repeated descriptions are properlyomitted.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for selecting acamping cell according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, the method 300 includes the following operation.

In S310, a network equipment sends configuration information to aterminal equipment, to enable the terminal equipment to measure licensedfrequency bands and unlicensed frequency bands according to theconfiguration information and determine a camping cell according to aresult of measurement over the licensed frequency bands and theunlicensed frequency bands.

Here, the configuration information includes channel signal qualitymeasurement information and/or channel interference level measurementinformation. Here, the channel quality measurement information includesan RSRP parameter and/or an RSRQ parameter. The channel interferencelevel measurement information includes an RSSI parameter.

In such a manner, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the networkequipment sends the configuration information to the terminal equipment,to enable the terminal equipment to measure the licensed frequency bandsand the unlicensed frequency bands according to the configurationinformation and determine the camping cell according to the result ofmeasurement. As such, the terminal equipment may camp in a licensedfrequency band cell or an unlicensed frequency band cell, and may alsoachieve optimal access performance between the licensed frequency bandsand the unlicensed frequency bands.

Optionally, in S310, the configuration information further includesfrequency band priority information. The frequency band priorityinformation may indicate ranking of different frequency bands in termsof capability in serving as camping frequency bands for the terminalequipment.

Optionally, in S310, the configuration information further includesreselection rule information, and the terminal equipment determines thecamping cell according to the result of measurement over the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands and the reselectionrule information.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the reselection ruleinformation includes an unlicensed frequency band reselection offsetand/or a reselection threshold value.

Optionally, S310 may be specifically implemented as follows: a broadcastmessage is sent to the terminal equipment. The broadcast message includethe configuration information.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the network equipmentmay send a SIB message to the terminal equipment. Optionally, the SIBmessage is a SIB4 message or a SIB5 message.

Optionally, in S310, the configuration information further includesmeasurement triggering condition information and/or measurement windowinformation.

In such a manner, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the networkequipment sends the configuration information to the terminal equipment,to enable the terminal equipment to measure the licensed frequency bandsand the unlicensed frequency bands according to the configurationinformation and determine the camping cell according to the result ofmeasurement over the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands. As such, the terminal equipment may camp in thelicensed frequency band cell or the unlicensed frequency band cell, andmay also achieve the optimal access performance between the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a terminal equipmentaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 5,the terminal equipment 10 includes a measurement module 11 and adetermination module 12.

The measurement module 11 is configured to measure licensed frequencybands and unlicensed frequency bands according to configurationinformation. The configuration information includes channel signalquality measurement information and/or channel interference levelmeasurement information. The channel quality measurement informationincludes an RSRP parameter and/or an RSRQ parameter. The channelinterference level measurement information includes an RSSI parameter.

The determination module 12 is configured to determine a camping cellaccording to a result of measurement performed by the measurement module11 on the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands.

In such a manner, the terminal equipment of the embodiment of thedisclosure may measure the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands according to the configuration information, anddetermine the camping cell according to the measurement result. As such,the terminal equipment may camp in a licensed frequency band cell or anunlicensed frequency band cell, and may also achieve optimal accessperformance between the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the configurationinformation further includes frequency band priority information. Thefrequency band priority information may indicate ranking of differentfrequency bands in terms of capability in serving as camping frequencybands for the terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the frequency bandpriority information may indicate that a priority of each unlicensedfrequency band is higher than a priority of each licensed frequencyband.

Here, when determining the camping cell according to the result ofmeasurement over the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands, the determination module 12 may be specificallyconfigured to:

when it is determined that an RSSI value of a first unlicensed frequencyband of the unlicensed frequency bands is lower than a first configuredthreshold value and an RSRP value and/or RSRQ value of at least oneunlicensed frequency band cell of unlicensed frequency band cellscorresponding to the first unlicensed frequency band are/is higher thana second configured threshold value, determine the unlicensed frequencyband cell with highest quality of the at least one unlicensed frequencyband cell as the camping cell.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the frequency bandpriority information may indicate that the priority of each unlicensedfrequency band is lower than the priority of each licensed frequencyband.

Here, when determining the camping cell according to the result ofmeasurement over the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands, the determination module 12 may be specificallyconfigured to:

when it is determined that RSRP values and/or RSRQ values of licensedfrequency band cells corresponding to the licensed frequency bands arelower than a third configured threshold value, an RSSI value of a secondunlicensed frequency band of the unlicensed frequency bands is lowerthan a fourth configured threshold value and an RSRP value and/or RSRQvalue of at least one unlicensed frequency band cell of unlicensedfrequency band cells corresponding to the second unlicensed frequencyband are/is higher than a fifth configured threshold value, determinethe unlicensed frequency band cell with highest quality of the at leastone unlicensed frequency band cell as the camping cell.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the frequency bandpriority information may indicate that the priority of each unlicensedfrequency band is equal to the priority of each licensed frequency band.

Here, when determining the camping cell according to the result ofmeasurement over the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands, the determination module 12 may be specificallyconfigured to:

when it is determined that the RSRP values and/or RSRQ values of thelicensed frequency band cells corresponding to the licensed frequencybands are lower than a sixth configured threshold value, an RSSI valueof a third unlicensed frequency band of the unlicensed frequency bandsis lower than a seventh configured threshold value and an RSRP valueand/or RSRQ value of at least one unlicensed frequency band cell ofunlicensed frequency band cells corresponding to the third unlicensedfrequency band are/is higher than an eighth configured threshold value,determine the unlicensed frequency band cell with highest quality of theat least one unlicensed frequency band cell as the camping cell.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, when determining thecamping cell according to the result of measurement over the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands, the determinationmodule 12 may be specifically configured to:

when it is determined that the RSRP values and/or RSRQ values of thelicensed frequency band cells corresponding to the licensed frequencybands are lower than a ninth configured threshold value, an RSSI valueof a fourth unlicensed frequency band of the unlicensed frequency bandsis lower than a tenth configured threshold value and an RSRP valueand/or RSRQ value of at least one unlicensed frequency band cell ofunlicensed frequency band cells corresponding to the fourth unlicensedfrequency band are/is higher than an eleventh configured thresholdvalue, determine the unlicensed frequency band cell with highest qualityof the at least one unlicensed frequency band cell as the camping cell.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the configurationinformation further includes reselection rule information.

Here, when determining the camping cell according to the result ofmeasurement over the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands, the determination module 12 may be specificallyconfigured to:

determine the camping cell according to the result of measurement overthe licensed frequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands and thereselection rule information.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the reselection ruleinformation includes an unlicensed frequency band reselection offsetand/or a reselection threshold value.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, as illustrated in FIG.6, the terminal equipment may further include a first receiving module13.

The first receiving module 13 may be configured to receive theconfiguration information sent by a network equipment.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, when receiving themeasurement configuration information sent by the network equipment, thefirst receiving module 13 may be specifically configured to:

receive a SIB message sent by the network equipment, the SIB messageincluding the configuration information.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, when receiving the SIBmessage sent by the network equipment, the first receiving module 13 maybe specifically configured to:

receive a SIB4 message or SIB5 message sent by the network equipment. Inthe embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, as illustrated in FIG. 7,the terminal equipment further includes a second receiving module 14.

The second receiving module 14 is configured to receive NAS signalingsent by core network equipment. The NAS signaling include theconfiguration information.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the configurationinformation further includes measurement triggering conditioninformation and/or measurement window information.

In such a manner, the terminal equipment of the embodiment of thedisclosure may measure the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands according to the configuration information, anddetermine the camping cell according to the measurement result. As such,the terminal equipment may camp in the licensed frequency band cell orthe unlicensed frequency band cell, and may also achieve the optimalaccess performance between the licensed frequency bands and theunlicensed frequency bands.

It is to be noted that, in the embodiment of the disclosure, themeasurement module 11 and the determination module 12 may be implementedby a processor, and the first receiving module 13 and the secondreceiving module 14 may be implemented by a receiver or receivers. Asillustrated in FIG. 8, a terminal equipment 100 may include a processor101, a receiver 102 and a memory 103. Here, the memory 103 may beconfigured to store codes executed by the processor 101 and the like,and the processor 101 is configured to execute the codes stored in thememory 103 and control the receiver 102 to receive a signal.

Various components in the terminal equipment 100 are coupled togetherthrough a bus system 104. Here, the bus system 104 includes a data bus,and further includes a power bus, a control bus and a state signal bus.

The terminal equipment 10 illustrated in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 or theterminal equipment 100 illustrated in FIG. 8 may implement variousprocesses implemented in the method embodiments in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2,and for avoiding repetition, will not be elaborated herein.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a network equipmentaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 9,the network equipment 20 includes a sending module 21.

The sending module 21 is configured to send configuration information toa terminal equipment, to enable the terminal equipment to measurelicensed frequency bands and unlicensed frequency bands according to theconfiguration information and determine a camping cell according to aresult of measurement over the licensed frequency bands and theunlicensed frequency bands.

Here, the configuration information includes channel signal qualitymeasurement information and/or channel interference level measurementinformation. Here, the channel quality measurement information includesan RSRP parameter and/or an RSRQ parameter. The channel interferencelevel measurement information includes an RSSI parameter.

In such a manner, the network equipment of the embodiment of thedisclosure sends the configuration information to the terminalequipment, to enable the terminal equipment to measure the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands according to theconfiguration information and determine the camping cell according tothe result of measurement over the licensed frequency bands and theunlicensed frequency bands. As such, the terminal equipment may camp ina licensed frequency band cell or an unlicensed frequency band cell, andmay also achieve optimal access performance between the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the configurationinformation further includes frequency band priority information, andthe frequency band priority information is configured to indicateranking of different frequency bands in terms of capability in servingas camping frequency bands for the terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the configurationinformation further includes reselection rule information, and theterminal equipment determines the camping cell according to the resultof measurement over the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensedfrequency bands and the reselection rule information.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the reselection ruleinformation includes an unlicensed frequency band reselection offsetand/or a reselection threshold value.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, when sending theconfiguration information to the terminal equipment, the sending module11 may be specifically configured to:

send a broadcast message to the terminal equipment, the broadcastmessage including the configuration information.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, when sending thebroadcast message to the terminal equipment, the sending module 11 maybe specifically configured to:

send a SIB message to the terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, when sending the SIBmessage to the terminal equipment, the sending module 11 may bespecifically configured to:

send a SIB4 message or a SIB5 message to the terminal equipment.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, optionally, the configurationinformation further includes measurement triggering conditioninformation and/or measurement window information.

In such a manner, the network equipment of the embodiment of thedisclosure sends the configuration information to the terminalequipment, to enable the terminal equipment to measure the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands according to theconfiguration information and determine the camping cell according tothe result of measurement over the licensed frequency bands and theunlicensed frequency bands. As such, the terminal equipment may camp inthe licensed frequency band cell or the unlicensed frequency band cell,and may also achieve the optimal access performance between the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands.

It is to be noted that, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the sendingmodule 11 may be implemented by a transmitter. As illustrated in FIG.10, a network equipment 200 may include a processor 201, a transmitter202 and a memory 203. Here, the memory 203 may be configured to storecodes executed by the processor 201 and the like. The processor 201 isconfigured to execute the codes stored in the memory 203 and control thetransmitter 202 to send a signal.

Various components in the network equipment 200 are coupled togetherthrough a bus system 204. The bus system 204 includes a data bus, andfurther includes a power bus, a control bus and a state signal bus.

The network equipment 20 illustrated in FIG. 9 or the network equipment200 illustrated in FIG. 10 may implement various processes implementedin the method embodiment in FIG. 4, and for avoiding repetition, willnot be elaborated herein.

Those skilled in the art may realize that the units and algorithm stepsof each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosedin the disclosure may be implemented by electronic hardware, computersoftware or a combination thereof. Whether these functions are executedin a hardware or software manner depends on specific applications anddesign constraints of the technical solutions. Those skilled in the artmay implement the described functions for each specific application byvirtue of different methods, but such implementation shall fall withinthe scope of the disclosure.

Those skilled in the art may clearly appreciate that specific workingprocesses of the system, device and unit described above may refer tothe corresponding processes in the method embodiment for convenient andbrief description and will not be elaborated herein.

In some embodiments provided by the disclosure, it is to be understoodthat the disclosed system, device and method may be implemented inanother manner. For example, the device embodiment described above isonly schematic. For example, division of the units is only logicfunction division, and other division manners may be adopted duringpractical implementation. For example, multiple units or components maybe combined or integrated into another system, or some characteristicsmay be neglected or not executed. In addition, coupling or directcoupling or communication connection between each displayed or discussedcomponent may be indirect coupling or communication connection,implemented through some interfaces, of the device or the units, and maybe electrical and mechanical or adopt other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physicallyseparated, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physicalunits, and namely may be located in the same place, or may bedistributed to multiple network units. Part or all of the units may beselected to achieve the purpose of the solutions of the embodimentsaccording to a practical requirement.

In addition, various function units in various embodiments of thedisclosure may be integrated into a processing unit, various units mayalso exist independently, and two or more than two units may also beintegrated into a unit.

When being implemented in form of software function unit and sold orused as an independent product, the function may also be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, thetechnical solutions of the disclosure substantially or parts makingcontributions to the conventional art or part of the technical solutionsmay be embodied in form of software product. The computer softwareproduct is stored in a storage medium, including a plurality ofinstructions configured to enable a piece of computer equipment (whichmay be a personal computer, a server, network equipment or the like) toexecute all or part of the steps of the method in each embodiment of thedisclosure. The abovementioned storage medium includes: various mediumcapable of storing program codes such as a U disk, a removable harddisk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magneticdisk or an optical disk.

The above is only the specific implementation of the disclosure and notintended to limit the scope of protection of the disclosure. Anyvariations or substitution apparent to those skilled in the art withinthe technical scope disclosed by the disclosure shall fall within thescope of protection of the disclosure. Therefore, the scope ofprotection of the disclosure shall be defined by the scope of protectionof the claims.

1. A method for cell selection and reselection for a camping cell,comprising: measuring, by an idle terminal equipment, licensed frequencybands and unlicensed frequency bands according to configurationinformation, the configuration information comprising signal qualitymeasurement configuration and/or interference level measurementconfiguration, wherein the signal quality measurement configurationcomprises at least one of Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP)measurement configuration and/or a Reference Signal Receiving Quality(RSRQ) measurement configuration, and the interference level measurementconfiguration comprises a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)measurement configuration; and when it is determined that the RSRPvalues and/or RSRQ values of the licensed frequency band cellscorresponding to the licensed frequency bands are lower than a ninthconfigured threshold value, an RSSI value of a fourth unlicensedfrequency band of the unlicensed frequency bands is lower than a tenthconfigured threshold value and an RSRP value and/or RSRQ value of atleast one unlicensed frequency band cell of unlicensed frequency bandcells corresponding to the fourth unlicensed frequency band are/ishigher than an eleventh configured threshold value, determining theunlicensed frequency band cell with highest quality of the at least oneunlicensed frequency band cell as the camping cell.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the configuration information furthercomprises reselection rule information, wherein determining the campingcell according to the result of measurement over the licensed frequencybands and the unlicensed frequency bands comprises: determining thecamping cell according to the result of measurement over the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands and the reselectionrule information.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein thereselection rule information comprises an unlicensed frequency bandreselection offset and/or a reselection threshold value.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: receiving the configurationinformation sent by a network equipment.
 5. The method according toclaim 4, wherein receiving the measurement configuration informationsent by the network equipment comprises: receiving a System InformationBlock (SIB) message sent by the network equipment, the SIB messagecomprising the configuration information, wherein receiving the SIBmessage sent by the network equipment comprises: receiving a SIB4message or SIB5 message sent by the network equipment.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, the terminalequipment, Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling sent by core networkequipment, the NAS signaling comprising the configuration information.7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the configurationinformation further comprises measurement triggering conditioninformation and/or measurement window information.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 7, wherein the measurement window informationcomprises a constant time length and a variable time length, andindicates a time length of each measurement.
 9. The method according toclaim 1, further comprising: measuring for a period of time or measuringfor a predetermined number of times during measuring licensed frequencybands and unlicensed frequency bands.
 10. A method for cell selectionand reselection for a camping cell, comprising: sending, by networkequipment, configuration information to a terminal equipment to enablethe terminal equipment to measure licensed frequency bands andunlicensed frequency bands according to the configuration informationand to determine a camping cell according to a result of measurementover the licensed frequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands,wherein the configuration information comprises signal qualitymeasurement configuration and/or interference level measurementconfiguration, wherein the signal quality measurement configurationcomprises at least one of Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP)measurement configuration and/or a Reference Signal Receiving Quality(RSRQ) measurement configuration, and the interference level measurementconfiguration comprises a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)measurement configuration; wherein after receiving the configurationinformation from network equipment, when it is determined that the RSRPvalues and/or RSRQ values of the licensed frequency band cellscorresponding to the licensed frequency bands are lower than a ninthconfigured threshold value, an RSSI value of a fourth unlicensedfrequency band of the unlicensed frequency bands is lower than a tenthconfigured threshold value and an RSRP value and/or RSRQ value of atleast one unlicensed frequency band cell of unlicensed frequency bandcells corresponding to the fourth unlicensed frequency band are/ishigher than an eleventh configured threshold value, the unlicensedfrequency band cell with highest quality of the at least one unlicensedfrequency band cell is determined as the camping cell.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein the configuration information furthercomprises frequency band priority information, the frequency bandpriority information indicating ranking of different frequency bands interms of capability in serving as camping frequency bands for theterminal equipment.
 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein theconfiguration information further comprises reselection ruleinformation, and the terminal equipment determines the camping cellaccording to the result of measurement over the licensed frequency bandsand the unlicensed frequency bands and the reselection rule information.13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the reselection ruleinformation comprises an unlicensed frequency band reselection offsetand/or a reselection threshold value.
 14. The method according to claim10, wherein sending the configuration information to the terminalequipment comprises: sending a broadcast message to the terminalequipment, the broadcast message comprising the configurationinformation.
 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein sending thebroadcast message to the terminal equipment comprises: sending a SystemInformation Block (SIB) message to the terminal equipment, whereinsending the SIB message to the terminal equipment comprises: sending aSIB4 message or a SIB5 message to the terminal equipment.
 16. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein the configuration information furthercomprises measurement triggering condition information and/ormeasurement window information.
 17. The method according to claim 16,wherein the measurement window information comprises a constant timelength and a variable time length, and indicates a time length of eachmeasurement.
 18. The method according to claim 10, wherein the licensedfrequency bands and the unlicensed frequency bands is measured for aperiod of time or for a predetermined number of times.
 19. A terminalequipment, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory for storinginstructions executable by the one or more processors; wherein the oneor more processors are configured to: measure licensed frequency bandsand unlicensed frequency bands according to configuration information,the configuration information comprising signal quality measurementconfiguration and/or interference level measurement configuration,wherein the signal quality measurement configuration comprises aReference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) measurement configuration and/ora Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement configuration,and the interference level measurement configuration comprises aReceived Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) measurement configuration; andwhen it is determined that the RSRP values and/or RSRQ values of thelicensed frequency band cells corresponding to the licensed frequencybands are lower than a ninth configured threshold value, an RSSI valueof a fourth unlicensed frequency band of the unlicensed frequency bandsis lower than a tenth configured threshold value and an RSRP valueand/or RSRQ value of at least one unlicensed frequency band cell ofunlicensed frequency band cells corresponding to the fourth unlicensedfrequency band are/is higher than an eleventh configured thresholdvalue, determine the unlicensed frequency band cell with highest qualityof the at least one unlicensed frequency band cell as the camping cell.20. The terminal equipment according to claim 19, the one or moreprocessors are further configured to: measure for a period of time ormeasure for a predetermined number of times during measuring licensedfrequency bands and unlicensed frequency bands.